1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for extracting and refining metals, and more particularly, to a system and method for extracting and refining titanium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Titanium, the ninth most commonly occurring element in the Earth's crust (and 4th most abundant structural material), is a corrosion-resistant material with high strength, a high melting point, and a density approximately 40% less than that of iron's. These characteristics make titanium the material of choice for many engineering applications.
However, conventional methods to extract titanium from titanium-bearing ores are costly and inefficient. The most popular conventional method uses titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4), a hazardous chemical, as its feedstock, and forms hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a byproduct. In addition, most conventional methods discharge large amounts of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), during the formation of the feedstocks and are limited to high concentration/low impurity titanium-bearing ores as the initial inputs.
Accordingly, there is a need for a metal extraction and refining processes, and in particular, for titanium extraction and refining processes, that limit the use of hazardous chemicals or environmental pollutants, and that are capable of using lower concentration titanium-bearing ores.